The Walk to End Alzheimer’s invited us out to help raise awareness at the event this year.  It was a great experience and it was for a good cause.  How many of us have had our lives affected due to a family member or friend with this disease? I’m sure we can all recall a personal experience.  Why is Alzheimer’s so prevalent these days?  What about early onset Alzheimer’s and why are the occurrences sky rocketing?  This organization is raising funds to support research to help put an end to this debilitating disease, so we wanted to include our input and discuss some of the natural ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

~Nutritious diet!  You are what you eat and we want you to embrace a diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables specifically loaded with pomegranates, wild blueberries, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, and apples.  Eating foods antioxidant rich are a must so chocolate, green tea, and foods with vitamin E and vitamin C are important for defending against Alzheimer’s.  Who likes Indian food?  Research suggests turmeric may be able to break up the “plaques” that mark the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients.  Lets not forget about our omega-3 oils.  These can be found in most seeds including hemp and flax.  We can also supplement but it must be from a good, high quality source!

Now lets talk about what to avoid.  We do not want to consume food that is high in mercury!  Many fish are contaminated with mercury so we need to stay clear of those.  We also want to avoid aluminum so we should stay away from cooking with aluminum cookware, as well as using products containing aluminum.  That means checking the labels of beauty products and antiperspirants.

~Some risk factors that must be monitored are cholesterol, blood pressure and obesity.  If these factors are abnormal than you could be as much as 600% more likely to lose healthy brain function and be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

~Lifestyle choices are so important for the proper function of the body!  People who exercise regularly are 25% less likely to develop the disease.  Lets challenge our mind everyday!  Research continually shows that mental stimulation, travelling, puzzles, and learning to play an instrument are a good way to avoid dementia and Alzheimer’s.  Everyone has stress in his or her life and if we deal with it properly we can save our body from the long-term effects.  Stress produces hormones that damage the brain!  Meditation, yoga, art, and gardening are some of the ways we can manage our stress.